Door for grain or freight cars.



N0. 65l,449.- Patented lune l2, I900.

H. A. 'SCHERMERHORN.

DOOR FOR GRAIN 0R FREIGHT CARS.

(Application filed Mar. 26, 1900.)

(No Model.)

HERSCI-IEL A/SOHERMERHORN, OF WATERMAN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN OR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES A. POTTER, OF SHABBONA, ILLINOIS.

DOOR FOR-GRAIN OR FRE IGHT CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 651,449, dated J was 12, 1900.

. Application filed March 26, 1900. Serial No. 10,176. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERSOHEL A. Sonne- MERHORN, a citizen of the United States,'residing at Waterman, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors for Grain or Freight Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction and means for operating the inner doors of grain or freight cars in which the grain is shipped in bulk orin loose form; and it consists in certain peculiarities of the construction, novel arrangement, and operation of the various parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

- The objects of my invention are to provide a door for grain-cars o1- receptacles employed for similar purposes which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, strong and durable, and which on accountof the peculiar and novel means employed may be easily raised and lowered, so as to allow the grain to be removed from the car or other receptacle or to be placed therein in the most convenient and eflicient manner without the use of crowbars or other prying instruments which are generally used to open or raise the doors for grain-cars now ordinarily in use.

Another objeot is to provide means for retaining the door in its raised position, so that it can be readily released and lowered automatically or by its own gravity.

. Still another object is to so construct the tracks or guideways for the pulleys as to prevent grain accumulating therein, so as to block or impede their progress in the raising or lowering of the door.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the subjoined description and explanation.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention pertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of aportion of a grain or freight car with my invention applied thereto and showing the parts thereof as viewed from within the car. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View of a fragment of the car, showing the door in its lowered position by continuous lines and in raised position by broken lines. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, in side elevation, of the lifting and lowering mechanism for the door detached. Fig. 4 is an edge view of a portion of the said mechanism; and Fig. 5 is a plan sectional view, partly in elevation, taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 1, showing a portion of the door and one of its bracketed rollers and one of the grooved standards or uprights.

Similar letters refer to like parts through out the different Views of the drawings.

A represents a grain-car, which may be of the ordinary or any preferred construction, or it may represent any other kind of receptacle, such as a garner or granary. This re ceptacle is formed with a doorway B, which usually extends from .the bottom of the car to about its top, as is clearly shown in Fig. -1 of the drawings. Located at each side of the doorway B is a grooved way 0, which in the presentinstancel have shown as beingformed of a standard or upright having a groove 0 on its outer surface; but said ways may be other" wise made, as is obvious. Secured to the bottom A of the car or receptacle A, on each side to the doorway, is a rod or bar D, which ex: tends upwardly in the groove 0 of the guideways 0 to near the top of the doorway and is then curved inwardly and secured at its other end to a joist d at about the middle of the car or receptacle, as is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Located between the rods or bars D and resting'against the inner surfaces of the guideways C is a door E, which preferably has secured to its upper portion, by

means of hinges e, a leaf or extension E,

which may be folded to'the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings or may be raised when the car is sufficiently filled with grain to the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Secured to the door E at each of its edges are brackets e and e which project from the edges of the door and are formed into loops substantially rectangular in shape,which loops embrace the rods D- and hold the door in a vertical position. Each of these looped brackets is provided with a grooved pulley a which travels on the outer surface of the rods or bars B and within the grooves e of the guideways C at the sides of the doorway.

By reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings it will be seen and clearly understood that the loops of the brackets e are inclined downwardly and extend into the grooves c of the guideways, while the brackets e are inclined upwardly and also extend into said grooves. This arrangement of the brackets is employed to prevent binding when the door is raised and carried along the curved por tions of the rods D, which act as rails or tracks for the pulleys on said brackets. Secured to the upper portion of the car or receptacle and usually to one of the cross-beams d is a bracket F, in the lower portion of which is journaled a grooved pulley f, over which passes a chain g, the lower end of which is secured to the lower portion of the door E at about the middle thereof. To the free end of the chain g is fulcrumed a lever G, one end of which is provided with prongs g to stride the chain 9 and to engage the same, as will be presently explained.

livotally secured on'the bracket F, just above the pulley f, is a catch it, which has three prongs 7t (see Fig. 4 of the drawings) to engage the links of the chain. This catch is provided with an extension or arm 702 to hold the hooks or prongs h in contact with the chain.

\Vhen the door is in its lowered position, the lever G will be suspended somewhat above the door, as shown in Fig. 1, and when it is desired to raise the door the forked end of the lever may be placed astride the chain, when by hearing down on the longer portion of the lever the door will be raised slightly, when the prongs may be disengaged from the chain and a new hold thereon taken and the door again lifted, and so on, until it reaches the desired height or its uppermost position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings, in which position, as well as the position when new holdsare being taken with the lever, it will be held by reason of the catch h engaging the links of the chain, thus preventing it slipping backwardly. The catch 71- being formed with three prongs it is apparent that the outer ones will guide the chain so as to cause the inner prongs to be inserted in one of the links. When it is desired to lower the door, the catch h may be lifted out of engagement with the chain, when the door will be lowered by reason of its gravity and will be guided to its proper position through the medium of the bracketed rollers and guide rods or bars. The lower portions of the guideways C are cut away, as at c, to allow the grain which might accumulate in the groove or channel of the guideway to pass out into the car, thus preventing the guideway becoming clogged.

Ilavin g thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a carer receptacle having a doorway, of a rod or bar secured to the floor thereof and extending upwardly and inwardly near each side of the doorway, a door having near the lower portion of each of its ends, a braeketwith downwardly and outwardly-extending loops,'and near the upper portion of each of its ends upper and outwardly-extending loops, all of said loops embracing the said rods or bars, a pulley on each of said loops, and means to lift the door, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a carer receptacle having a doorway, of a rod or bar secured to the floor thereof and extending upwardly and inwardly near each side of the doorway, a

door having near the lower portion of each of its ends, a bracket with downwardly and outwardly extending loops, and near the upper portion of each of its ends upper and out ward] y-extendin g loops, all of said loops embracing the said rods or bars, a pulley on each of said loops, a pulley journaled above the door, a chain secu red at. one of its ends to the door and passing over said pulley, a lever fulcrumcd at the other end of said chain and having a forked end, and a catch pivotally secured near the said pulley to engage the chain, substantially as described.

The combination with a car or receptacle having adoorway, of a vertically-grooved way located at each side of the doorway and having its lower portipn cut away, a rod or bar secured to the floor of the car and extending upwardly in each of said ways and then inwardly, a door having near the lower portion of each of its ends a bracket with downwardly and outwardly extending loops, and near the upper portion of each of its ends, upper and ontwardly-extending loops, all of said loops embracing said rods or bars, a pulley on each of said loops, and means to lift the door, substantially as described.

llllltSClllih A. SOllllRMllRllOltN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES II. Scnnnnnnnons, Janus A. POTTER.

ICC 

